444 A PRACTICAL EXPOSITION UPON [IsA. LIII. 11.
53, 54, ' Thinkest thoii that I cannot now pray unto my Father, and lie shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels ? But how, then, shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?' Well, then, you find a great deal of matter to be offered to your thoughts for the commendation of Christ's love.
2. There is more in Christ's being a servant. He subjected him- self to your covenant — the covenant of works — that lay upon all men naturally : Gal. iv. 4, ' Made under the law' — not only the moral law, which is not a slavery, but a freedom ; whereas, on the contrary, the satisfying of our corrupt desires is tlie greatest slavery in the world : 2 Peter ii. 19, ' While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption.' But that he should put himself into such a condition as to make himself liable to his Father's wrath, to take our curse upon him, yea, to be 'made a curse for us/ Gal. iii. 13, that is a high instance of the love of Christ — that he, that was the beloved of his Father — the apostle calleth him ' the Son of his love,' Col. i. 13 ; — we translate it 'his dear Son' — that he, I say, should become the receptacle of his Father's wratli, and that all his auger should as it were be pitched upon him, — what a circumstance is this ! Thus you see Christ is God's servant.
Secondly, In the next place, you must look upon him as God's righteou.s servant ; and tlius he hath taken our work and burden upon him. There is a threefold righteousness of Christ: —
1. Essential and divine, which is that infinite and surpassing per- fection which is in him as he was God. That is not to be considered in this place, partly because he speaketh here of the righteousness of Christ as a servant ; but this is the righteousness of Christ as a Lord. And besides, this is not communicable to the creatures. It was the dream of Osiander that the Lord should, in justification, communicate to us his essential righteousness. But hear what the prophet saith : Isa. xlii. 8, ' ]\Iy glory will I not give to another.' God saith expressly he will part with none of his essential glory. His creatures are not vested with that.
2. There is his absolute and personal righteousness, as he is Mediator and God-man, and is able to make others righteous. And so it is said, John iii. 34, ' God giveth not the Spirit by measure to him.' He had as a man the Spirit without measure, not sparingly, but poured out with a full hand and in abundance. And so it is said, Col. i. 19, 'It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;' and Col. ii. 9, 'For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.' Christ's soul is filled by the union of the Godhead with all created and habitual gi-aces. Though these things are for us, and God liath made Christ a storehouse of sufficiencies for the elect, yet they are not imputed to us. It is true, though we are full of sin, and Christ came into the world full of righteousness, and so it is a just remedy against the sinfulness of our natures, and it q\ialified the Lord Jesus to be a fit person to do us good ; yet iiere we speak not of the righteousness of Christ as a servant, but of his service ; and we have not this fulness imputed to us so as that we may become saviours to one another. Christ was by these things fitted to do us good, and to be a continual magazine of comforts and graces, to which
ISA. LIII. 11.] THE FIFTT-THIKD CHAPTER OF ISAIAH. 445
the creatures might have recourse in all their troubles : Eph. iv. 7, ' But unto every one of us is grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ/
3. There is a dispensative and relative righteousness, which is called jtistitia fidejussoria, the rigliteousness that Christ performed for us, and in our stead, as our surety, even the righteousness that he manifested in the work and service of our redemption. And so chiefly he is to be considered as God's righteous servant. He showed it in two things : —
[1.] In exact obedience, even to the least tittle of the law, for oUr sakes. We could not possibly keep in with God, therefore Christ did: Kom. viii. 3, ' For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, for sin condemned sin in the flesh ; ' Mat. iii. 15, ' It becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.' He doth that for us which we could not do in ourselves. And therefore Christ is said to be ' the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth,' Rom, x. 4. The end of the law is perfection of obedience, and Christ is that to us by having fulfilled it in his own person. The scriptures do everywhere avow this righteousness of Christ and exactness of keeping the law : Isa. liii. 9, it is said, ' There was no deceit in his mouth.' It was not a pretended show. As to the holiness of his conversation : 2 Cor. v. 21, 'He knew no sin ;' that is, he had no experimental knowledge of it in his own soul : 1 Peter ii. 22, 'Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.' There could be nothing justly charged upon him as to his conversation. Farther, it is said, Heb. iv, 1.5, ' He was in all points tempted like us, yet without sin.' Men usually miscarry in their temptations, Jesus Christ was tempted, his soul was as- saulted even to a consternation ; but there was no sin in it ; like a glass of pure water that is jogged, but it stirreth up no mud. Thus you see what a righteous servant Christ is. God ordained him to the suretyship of the creature, and he was faithful in it, and did all things well.